We had a lovely group of folks both onstage and in the audience at Town Hall talking about the books they might like to give around the holidays and offering suggestions for new books to add to their stacks.

“Hamster Princess: Of Mice and Magic,” (F) by Ursula Vernon, a middle grade children’s book with a sparkly pink cover and an endearing story about a cliff diving young girl. It has great vocabulary, thought ballons and something a boy would like.

“Listen, Slowly,” by Newbury award winner Thanna Lai, feels fresh, accurate and believable as we journey with a 13-year old girl to Vietnam to find out what happened to her Grandfather.

From audience questions:

“Mother Bruce” by Ryan T. Higginsmight just appeal to the 3-5 year old in your gift-giving circle. Clever, tongue and cheek play on Mother Goose.

“Bubble Trouble” by Tom Percival is a tale about a young girl that is full of tongue twisters that kids love.

“Aurora” by Kim Stanley Robinson is a new book from the science fiction writer that is always great on the science. The novel takes us on a journey with space colonists to Tau Ceti.

“Luna: New Moon,” by Ian McDonald is about the people who are fighting the moon’s corporate run near-feudal society.

“Seveneves,” Neal Stephenson’s look at the end of the moon and the struggle to survive on the International Space Station.

“Pandora’s Star,” by Peter Hamilton is an older Sci-Fi that still holds up after 10 years.

“ The Oregon Trail,” by Rinker Buck is Nancy Pearl’s go-to non-fiction book of the year. It is an account of a man following the trail more than a century later. It is Rich with history and great stories.

“Winter Wheat” by Mildred Walker. This is a book for people who love Willa Cather. It is a story for folks who grew up on the land in the mid-west.

“The Worst Hard Time,” by Tim Egan. Along with Winter Wheat, a book that gives a sense of the farming life in the U.S.